Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State prediction, odds, pick for Big 12 Tournament
03/10/2025 07:01 PM
It’s time to continue our Big 12 Tournament odds series with a Cincinnati-Oklahoma State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Cincinnati-Oklahoma State.
It is that time of year. Championship Week is here. It’s a week of bracket drama before the big bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday. Teams with no or little chance at an NCAA Tournament at-large bid have to win their conference tournament to get to the big show and the field of 68. Cincinnati might have a very tiny bubble chance, but the Bearcats have to make the Big 12 Tournament final to be considered on Selection Sunday. Anything less won’t get it done. Cincinnati has greatly damaged its bubble position over the past few weeks with several losses, some of them at home. The Bearcats are playing a first-round game in their conference tourney on Tuesday. They need to be playing on Saturday (at least Friday as an absolute bare minimum) to have any sort of place in a bubble conversation.
Oklahoma State is in its first season under coach Steve Lutz. The Cowboys are in a rebuilding phase. They were supposed to be here in the first round of their conference tournament. Cincinnati, on the other hand, was not. Cincinnati is expected to win by the markets, but Cincinnati has been a disappointing team and will therefore be questioned as a favorite by plenty of betting analysts.
Here are the Cincinnati-Oklahoma State Big 12 Tournament Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
Big 12 Tournament Odds: Cincinnati-Oklahoma State Odds
Cincinnati: -5.5 (-118)
Moneyline: -250
Oklahoma State: +5.5 (-104)
Moneyline: +202
Over: 138.5 (-115)
Under: 138.5 (-105)
How to Watch Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN Plus
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Cincinnati Will Cover The Spread/Win
Cincinnati needs this game a lot more than Oklahoma State does, for the reason we pointed to above. Cincinnati was not supposed to be here in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. This game is a 13-versus-12-seed game. Cincinnati being a double-digit seed puts the Bearcats in the bottom third of the 16-team Big 12 Conference. That’s a really brutal result for a team which was expected to make the NCAA Tournament and is highly unlikely to do that. If the Bearcats are going to salvage their season, it starts here at the Big 12 Tournament. The Bearcats need to get hot and stay hot and find a way to win at least three, probably four, basketball games in order to re-enter the bubble conversation. The incentive for this team is powerful, and that could be the reason the Bearcats not only win, but win comfortably enough to cover the spread.
Why Oklahoma State Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Cincinnati Bearcats are an underachieving, unreliable team. If you are going to bet on Oklahoma State, you are basically expressing doubt in Cincinnati and are willing to fade the Bearcats, which — given their 13th-place standing in the Big 12 — is a logical and rational impulse. Cincinnati knew in recent weeks that it needed to win a stack of games to make an NCAA Tournament statement, but it still couldn’t win consistently. That tells you something basic and yet very important: Just because Cincinnati needs to win doesn’t mean UC will actually win. Urgency doesn’t matter if the maturity isn’t there to back it up.
Final Cincinnati-Oklahoma State Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Cincinnati, but there’s no way we are trusting the Bearcats with a pregame wager. Maybe wait for a live play late in the first half or at halftime.
Final Cincinnati-Oklahoma State Prediction & Pick: Cincinnati -5.5
The post Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State prediction, odds, pick for Big 12 Tournament appeared first on ClutchPoints.
